Florida School Shooting: Peterson Insists He Was No Coward

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL — The former Broward County Sheriff's deputy who is accused of waiting outside Marjory Stoneman High School as a lone gunman shot student after student, spoke out for the first time on Monday insisting that he is not a coward. Former Deputy Scot Peterson abruptly retired on Thursday when informed that he was being suspended without pay for his actions related to the horrific Valentine's Day shooting in which 17 students and faculty members were killed.

"Let there be no mistake, Mr. Peterson wishes that he could have prevented the untimely passing of
the 17 victims on that day, and his heart goes out to the families of the victims in their time of need. However, the allegations that Mr. Peterson was a coward and that his performance, under the circumstances, failed to meet the standards of police officers are patently untrue," according to a statement released through Fort Lauderdale attorney Joseph A. DiRuzzo, III, who is representing Peterson.

"Mr. Peterson is confident that his actions on that day were appropriate under the circumstances and that the video (together with the eyewitness testimony of those on the scene) will exonerate him of any sub-par
performance," the statement said.

The Broward Sheriff's Office declined to comment on Peterson's account while investigators conduct an internal affairs investigation into the officer's actions. In addition, Gov. Rick Scott ordered an investigation into the law enforcement response to the shooting by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

See also Florida School Shooting: Teachers Return To Classrooms

President Trump on Friday called out Peterson by name, referring to him as a "coward" or someone who "didn't react properly under pressure." The president's remarks came as he pressed forward with apparent plans to eliminate gun-free school zones and arm certain teachers and faculty members in the nation's schools.

"He didn't go into the school because he didn't want to go into the school," the president said of Scot Peterson. "He was tested and it wasn't a good result."

Speaking to the nation's governors on Monday, Trump said: "I really believe I'd run in there even if I didn't have a weapon and I think most of the people in this room would have done that, too."

Peterson said in his statement that he "received a call of firecrackers" and not gunshots in the area of Building 12. He said he ran a "couple of hundred yards" to Building 12 with security specialist Kelvin Greenleaf.

"Upon arriving at 1200 Building Mr. Peterson 'heard gunshots but believed that those gunshots were originating from outside of any of the buildings on the school campus," the statement said.

Under pressure to act to stem gun violence on school grounds, Trump solicited input from the state chief executives during meetings Monday at the White House. The governors are in Washington for their annual winter meeting.

Broward Sheriff Scott Israel said on Thursday that Peterson, a school resource officer, stood outside Building 12 for four of the six minutes the shooter unloaded his AR-15 assault rifle and did "nothing." The sheriff said that Peterson was armed and in uniform at the time.

Peterson should have "went in, address the killer, kill the killer," according to Israel. Video surfaced of Peterson from a 2015 meeting of the Broward School Board in which the former officer assured school officials: "We're all here for the same goal; To protect our kids, to protect our property."

Here is Peterson's complete account of his response to the shooting as provided to Patch by attorney DiRuzzo.

• Mr. Peterson initially “received a call of firecrackers — and not gunfire — in the area of the 1200 Building.”
• In response to the firecracker call Mr. Peterson along “with Security Specialist Kelvin Greenleaf exited the 100 Building and ran north the couple of hundred yards to the 1200 Building."
• Upon arriving at 1200 Building Mr. Peterson “heard gunshots but believed that those gunshots were originating from outside of any of the buildings on the school campus."
• BSO trains its officers that in the event of outdoor gunfire one is to seek cover and assess the situation in order to communicate what one observes to other law enforcement.
• Consistent with his training, Mr. Peterson “took up a tactical position between the 700-800 buildings corridor/corner.”
• Mr. Peterson was the first BSO officer to advise BSO dispatch that he heard shots fired.
• Mr. Peterson “initiated a ‘Code Red’ lockdown of the entire school campus.”
• “The first police officer that arrived on-scene was from the Coral Springs Police Department.” Mr. Peterson informed this Coral Springs Police Officer that he “thought that the shots were coming from outside.” This Coral Springs Police Officer took up a tactical position (approximately 20 yards away from Mr. Peterson) behind a tree with his rifle.
• “Radio transmissions indicated that there was a gunshot victim in the area of the football field,” which served to confirm Mr. Peterson’s belief “that the shooter, or shooters, were outside.”
• Mr. Peterson had the presence of mind to have the school administrators go to the school’s video room to review the closed-circuit cameras to locate the shooter and ... obtain a description for law enforcement.
• Mr. Peterson provided his keys to the Coral Springs SWAT team so that they could enter the 1200 Building.
• Mr. Peterson “provided BSO SWAT Command with handwritten diagrams of the entire Stoneman Douglas campus for student evacuation.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

People dressed in white costumes as angels stand by a makeshift memorial outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on Sunday. Photo by David Santiago/Miami Herald via AP.